Friday NBA Playoff Selection & Analysis
Opinion Selection
Cleveland +3' over WASHINGTON
The Wizards made defensive changes against LeBron James from Game 1 to Game 2 to make sure the young superstar earned his points by committing hard fouls on him in the paint. Now James looks to make his adjustments accordingly as his Cavaliers continue their first-round series against Washington, tied 1-1.
"King James" became just the third player in NBA history to have a triple-double in his playoff debut with 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in a Game 1 victory by the Cavs, but 7-foot Wiz center Brendan Haywood set an early tone in Game 2, stopping James on a drive by wrapping his massive arms around LeBron's head in the first quarter. While James did finish with 26 points, he shot just 7-for-25 from the field and committed 10 turnovers in the 89-84 loss.
Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler combined for 72 points Tuesday after scoring only 48 in Game 1. Arenas scored 30 points, while Jamison and Butler each had 21, and they combined to make 8-of-17 3-pointers. The "Big Three" was the highest-scoring trio in the league during the regular season at 67.4 points per game.
We look for James to bounce back with a strong effort here and get some help from his friends. Don't be surprised to see LeBron's teammates to make a statement early that they are not going to allow their leader to be manhandled.
We also have numerous PRO INFO SPORTS NBA PLAYOFF POWER SYSTEMS active here, all favoring the visitors. One tells us to: Play ON a road team (not a favorite of more than 4 points or underdog of 4+ points) off a home SU loss scoring less than 42 points in the first half. With a tight line on the road, these teams are a perfect 7-0 SU & ATS since at least 1999, beating opponents and the spread by averages of 11+ points a game. Washington could well let down a bit here, which is all it will to allow Cleveland to grab a road victory. Fifth-seeded home Playoff teams not favored by 9+ points off a road SU victory are just 1-5 SU & 0-6 ATS.
With both teams getting chippy, this should be a physical battle that's close from beginning to end. We give the Cavaliers an even chance of winning the game outright, while we expect nothing worse than a slight SU loss, perhaps in overtime, and a slim spread win.
PROJECTED FINAL SCORE: WASHINGTON 110 CLEVELAND 109 (OT)